Today’s UK road casualty statistics released by the Government show that not wearing a seatbelt contributed to 30% of deaths in cars for the first time.
At night, that rose to a dreadful 47%.
Most likely to be killed while not wearing seatbelt were younger car occupants aged 17 to 29 years at 40%.
Among males killed in cars, 34% were not wearing seat belts, as opposed to 20% of females.
“This is a dreadful jump in road deaths where wearing a seat belt may well have been the difference between surviving or dying in a road crash,” says Jack Cousens, the AA’s head of roads policy.
“Release from pandemic lockdowns may have fuelled some of the surge, but the rate of death while not wearing a seat belt was surging even before covid. There may need to be a road safety campaign to raise the danger once again. Clearly, the message is being forgotten.”
*Article Source www.rac.co.uk
